


The Goblins

by Krocken



Category: BlazBlue, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Fairy Tail, Game of Thrones (TV), One Piece, Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Street Fighter, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Death, Drugs, F/M, Fame, Love, Music, Tours, friends - Freeform, life - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-04-11 19:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19116580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krocken/pseuds/Krocken
Summary: A collab work between me and Never-Ending DonkeyThe story of an developing band, led by Arya, looking to make their mark in the world...Easier said than done.





	1. Origins

Arya stared out the window as the bus pulled up to the station, trying to mentally block out the cookie-cutter pop that played over the sound system. She was finally coming home after one glorious summer in Gondor, barely eking out a living as a professional musician. All she had left of her kit were her drumsticks and a snare drum; she'd had to sell the rest to afford the ticket home.

Stepping off with the rest of the passengers, she tried to focus on the good parts of the experience, like drumming for the dragon bard Cynder. Yes, at least she had her stories, and no amount of smug taunting from Sansa could take that away from her. Arya scanned the crowd, looking for her older brother, Robb.He was the head of the household now, after their parents died in an...accident. They were well-off, thankfully, and an inheritance helped with it, but still...the loss stung.

Sure enough, there he was, holding up a sign with his little sister's name written on it. Arya pushed her way through the crowd to get to him, and he smiled at the sight of her.

"Come give us a hug, Trouble," he said as Arya approached, using her old childhood nickname. She obliged, dropping her bags and throwing her arms around him.

"I missed you," she mumbled.

"So did I, as well as Sansa, Bran, and Rickon." Robb replied. "So, how was the trip."

Arya sighed, gesturing to the remnants of her kit. "Could have been better."

"Could have been worse," Robb said optimistically. "Come on, let's get you back home."

He helped Arya gather her things and drove her home. They listened to the Oldies station on the way.

"They just don't make 'em like Gold Roger anymore," Arya sighed as she listened to "The Voice of All Things," the singer in question's last chart topper before his fatal plane crash. The place crash that took the lives of not just him, but several other musicians as well.

"Music tastes changed quite often." Robb replied. "You remember that Octavio guy? He was a great singer in terms of opera, but before his career could really leave its mark, it was suddenly all about rock." He sighed. "He didn't take it well. Became part of the mafia."

"Gondor had some good music," said Arya. "I sat in on drums for this dwarf band one time. Their singer was a real piece of work, though."

Robb nodded. “Good to hear things are going well for the most part.”

Arya smiled, deciding not to mention that the band had splintered that very same night over frontman Thorin Oakenshield's erratic behavior. Soon they arrived back at the house.

A rather large estate, when the long line of Starks had lived. It was good to be home, honestly.

Lady, Sansa's beloved pet direwolf, came bounding out to greet the younger Stark sister as she made her way up the path. Sansa herself wasn't far behind... but she looked a bit more melancholy than usual.

That troubled Arya...because while they sisters were not always on the best of terms, they still looked out for each other.

 

"Sansa, I-" Arya started to say, but her sister just embraced her and held her tight.

"I'm so glad you're back," she whispered to Arya.

That was...odd, though certainly not unwelcome. But had something happened while she was gone?

Still, Sansa wasn't volunteering that information, so Arya didn't ask. The two sisters entered the house together, meeting Rickon and Bran.

The other direwolves were about the area as well, perking up when they smelled Arya.

Yes, she might have eventually failed as a professional drummer, but at least Arya had come home to a house full of love. She spent the next few days decompressing, sharing stories of her experiences with her siblings.

From idiot players to money grubbing perverts, it was quite the experience.

But there were also moments of happiness, such as a skeleton impresario who helped her make connections, the dragon bard Cynder who let her sleep in her cavern, and the young dwarven guitarist Kili, to whom Arya had lost her virginity. That earned some odd looks from others, but they decided not to press, as it could lead to too much tension...and they knew Arya was smart enough to use protection.

Question was...now what?

Yes, what would she do now that she was home again, safe, sound, and bored out of her mind? The question haunted Arya. She didn't have to worry about where her next meal would come from, and this wasn't the kind of neighborhood where girls like her had to worry about muggers or rapists.

In short, she was in a bubble. That would have been fine for Sansa, but Arya needed stimulation. Then one day, while she was flipping through a childhood photo album, Arya found a particular photograph of herself in a knight costume, posing with two familiar boys. One of them, a grinning little fellow in a pirate costume, was around her age, and the other, who had freckles and was dressed as a dragon, was a few years older. Luffy and Ace, her childhood friends.

 

She could not help but smile at the thought of them. Those two...always full of life and ready to take on the world, it seemed. She really missed them.

...Could she seek them out. It could be tricky, maybe even awkward, but still...

If it meant getting to do something interesting again, surely that would make it a worthy adventure. So, on the pretext of taking Nymeria for a walk, Arya slipped out one afternoon to see if she could track down the brothers.

If her thoughts we correct, she believed she knew where she could look. Nymeria kept on her side, loyal as always.

Sure enough, they were still living at the hillside house by the beach, a place that had helped foster Arya's adventurous spirit after all the time she'd spent there, playing with the brothers. And judging from the sounds of a distorted electric bass and a sloppily played drum set, they'd caught the music bug as well.

She smiled to herself as she made her way to the household.

Time to make some reunions.

She found them in the garage. Ace was playing the bass guitar, and Luffy the drums, which made sense, given the younger brother's lack of subtlety.

She gave a grin as she looked upon the two. "Well now, always good to be making a name for yourselves."

Luffy looked up from his drums to see Arya, and his old familiar grin broke out on his face.

"Arya!" he shouted, leaping over his bass drum and hugging her.

"Long time no see," said Ace, petting Nymeria as the direwolf poked him with her nose. "Heard you went down to Gondor over the summer. How was it?"

Arya sighed. "Sometimes you have to take the bitter with the sweet. I had my ups and downs...especially when I had to sell most of my kit just to get home."

"You sold your drums?" Luffy repeated sympathetically. "Man, that's rough."

Ace nodded. "Sometimes it's about the journey. Anyways, if you wanna jam with us, I could dig up my old electric guitar for you. It's a righty, though."

Arya shrugged and said, "Didn't really have a plan this time. Maybe we could hang out, listen to records... write some songs..."

Ace nodded. "Yeah...but lately I have been thinking...maybe we could GO somewhere with this."

Arya cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, maybe try and make a name for ourselves in the music world, try to bring our tastes to the public."

Arya pursed her lips in thought. She had always wanted to make a career out of music, but it felt like she'd hit a ceiling with her instrument of choice. Drummers, as she'd come to learn, were a dime a dozen, and in her experience, sitting in the drum chair meant having a clear view of the singer's ass.

But with that in mind, Arya couldn't think of a more trustworthy ass-starer than Luffy.

"Then let's start a band, right here and now," she declared.

"OH, yeah!" Luffy grinned. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Hmmm, but it feels like we could do with another member." Ace added.

 

"We could ask around," Arya said with a shrug. "I'm sure there's a decent guitarist out there."

"Yeah, see," Ace continued, rubbing the back of his head, "I was thinking of switching back to guitar myself. Bass is alright, but it's not really me."

Well, that complicated things. Bassists were certainly harder to come by in this town. But Luffy looked optimistic.

"I'm sure we can find someone who can help around town." He grinned.

"Well, no time like the present," said Arya. "And I think I know just the place to start looking."

With that, they headed down to a local diner, one where a lot of college students, aspiring artists, and the odd truck driver came to dine.

Also consisting of various species, all here to forget their issues for some time and just eat.

Although Ace and Luffy had a bit of a reputation around town for leaving restaurants without paying their check, there was still just enough good will between them and this place for the staff to let them in. Arya scanned the place as she sat down with the brothers, while Luffy was already slapping the counter top and demanding food.

All around, she could see people ready for their dreams, whether to follow them...or to simply let them go. Hard to say these days, with things changing so fast. But who could she pick out from this crowd?

Her eyes fell on a white-haired young man in a red trenchcoat standing at the back of the diner, leaning against the wall in thought. If nothing else, he had a bit of mystique about him. She waved to the stranger, catching his attention. At first he just stared at her incredulously. To be fair, that was the appropriate response. Why would he be open to some random stranger...

...but curiosity got the better of him, and he sighed and strode over.

"Care to join us?" asked Arya. "You look like you could use some company."

"You're all together?" the young man asked as he watched Ace trying to stop Luffy from sticking silverware up his own nose.

"Yeah. Your point?" Arya asked.

"What is it you all even DO?" The young man asked, his heterochromic eyes narrow.

"Only when service is slow," she replied calmly. "Now do you wanna join us for lunch or not?"

A growl coming from the young man's stomach cut off any further retorts.

"...Fine..." He sighed as he readied himself for some food as Arya grinned.

They ended up getting a big plate of hamburger sliders, and as they sat there eating (and keeping Luffy from devouring everything), they took the time to introduce themselves.

"They call me Ragna..." The young man said. "And that's all I wish to be called."

"Fair enough, Ragna," Arya chirped. "I'm Arya, and the shirtless guy is Ace. The little bugger stuffing his face is Luffy. They're brothers."

While Arya was talking, Ace suddenly dozed off, enabling Luffy to take the opportunity to steal his brother's half-eaten burger.

"...I see..." was all Ragna said, wondering if this was a very bad mistake.

Arya chose her words carefully, not wanting to scare off Ragna: "You looked a bit lonely back there. Gave me the feeling you might wanna belong somewhere. We were all wondering, what do you think of what they play on the ra-?"

"We're in a band," Luffy blurted out, ruining Arya's calculated pitch, "and we want you to join."

Arya cursed under her breath as Ragna gave them a very deadpan stare.

"...You want me to be part of it, eh?" Ragna asked.

"...Yes." Arya replied weakly.

Ragna closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Then he looked at them again, shrugged, and said, "Got nothing better to do. Sure, why not."

"Right," Arya nodded. "First we got figure out what to do from here."

"Well, who plays what?" asked Ragna. "Is it just the four of us?"

"Ace plays the guitar," Arya explained. "Luffy's our drummer, and I..."

She trailed off for a moment, realizing she hadn't considered what her new role would be.

"...and I guess I'm the singer." She found herself saying.

"You guess?" Ragna did not look convinced.

"If you can call what I do singing," she quickly added. "To be precise, it's more of a growl than anything else. We just need someone to play bass."

Now Ragna looked puzzled. "What's bass?"

...Rocky start, it seemed, but Arya was not one to give up.

She nudged Ace awake and explained, "The bass is one of the most important instruments in any band. Think of a guitar with a longer neck, fewer strings, and a deeper sound, that's a bass."

"Yeah, it's pretty niche," Ace agreed, backing up Arya. "I could give ya pointers if you want."

Ragna once again found himself internally questioning whether this was all a good idea or not.

"Ever listen to the radio?" asked Arya. When Ragna scoffed, she continued, "Me neither. I understand, you have your hangups. We look weird, we act like children, and you haven't even heard us play yet. But if you care about music that means something, maybe we have to make it ourselves."

“And...do you have a broad plan for this?” Ragna asked.

“Well, I like to make things upas I go along.” Arya admitted.

"Huh. Well, that's a pretty far cry from all that prepackaged teenybopper bullshit," Ragna admitted. He had to give them some credit; they might be disorganized and socially awkward, but their confidence in themselves was impressive. "So what do you call yourselves?"

Before Arya could admit that they hadn't thought that far, Ace came to her rescue, stating, "The Goblins. We're messy, we smell bad, and cops hate us."

"Cops hate a lot of people these days." Ragna replied suddenly. "Make sure things are more 'orderly' around here."

"So Ragna," Luffy interjected, "Do you like Shanks and the Red Force?"

This was Luffy's litmus test for worthy band members, as Shanks was his musical idol.

Ragna blinked. "I admit, they have some good merit."

"Alright!" said Luffy. "You're in."

"Wait, what?" Ragna sputtered.

"Just follow us, we'll show you our setup," said Arya, getting up. "But you might wanna leg it."

Before Ragna could demand an explanation, the three weirdos who'd just recruited him into their band were scurrying out the door... without paying for their meal. And he didn't have any cash on him.

A dine and dash...great...just what was needed.

A Nutria intern by the name of Dave came by with a bored expression, looking about. "What just happened here?"

"A bunch of goblins, that's what," Ragna replied.

"Huh?"

"Never mind." He wandered out of the diner, his hands in his pockets. Looking off to the side, he noticed the three weirdos still hot-footing it down the street. Goblins indeed. But then again... wasn't he messy, stinky, and a general nuisance, too?

Well, not like he had much to do anyways. He was a wanderer by nature...ever since his little sister died of sickness and his stupid brother went off on his own accord...He sighed as he moved on after them.

It wasn't that hard to track them down, despite their head start. They were at some hillside house overlooking a beach. He had to admit, it was kinda nice looking...giving a serene look.

As he drew closer, a middle-aged woman with long strawberry blonde hair and freckles came out to water the plants. When she noticed Ragna walking up, she turned and waved. Well, that was a first. Usually when nice-looking motherly types saw him they either avoided him or told their kids to do their homework, lest they "ended up like that bum." He just waved back and nodded.

"You must be Ragna," the lady called to him. "Arya and the boys told me you'd probably be coming. They're in the den. I'm Rouge, nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," he mumbled, nodding awkwardly. "Um, do I just go in?"

"Go right ahead. Likely expecting you by now." Rouge responded.

...These people were ODD.

Rouge just hummed to herself as her confused new guest wandered into the house, immediately hearing the sound of a guitar. So, Ragna wandered into the den, finding Ace seated on a bean bag chair, strumming an unplugged electric guitar, while Arya lay on her stomach, scribbling furiously in a notebook. Luffy lay off to the side on his back, playing with his hat and looking bored.

"So..." He began. "This is what you all do together?" He asked.

"Pretty much." Ace shrugged. "It's just what we do."

Ragna observed this all, just as Nymeria observed him.

Direwolves, he knew about those. Very large wolves.

It felt... weird, being under her gaze. He tried not to let it get to him and sat on a chair near Arya, asking her, "Are those your lyrics?"

"Mmm-hmm," she replied, nodding. "I have a special rule with 'em. I grew up watching 'Gandalf's Corner,' and he used to ask us to write to him using less than thirty words per letter. So I try to use no more than thirty unique words per song. It's actually quite fun to do it that way."

Ragna was silent at that, watching her work. Odd, all right, but dedicated and creative to their line of work.

"There's a bass over in the corner if you wanna jam," said Ace, nodding in the direction of an unplugged bass guitar. True to Arya's description, it was longer than a standard guitar, with fewer but thicker strings for a deeper tone. Ragna went over and fetched it, surprised at how light it actually was, and sat on a couch, experimenting with the instrument. He just strummed a bit at first, trying to adjust. It actually had quite a nice sound to it...but could he really do it?

As if to coach him, Ace strummed a chord on his guitar. Ragna fumbled along the neck of the bass until he played a note that sounded like the chord. Ace nodded in approval and said, "That's step one down, man. You're on a roll."

"Well, guess this is one good thing to hear in my life." Ragna muttered.

"Eh?" Arya looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly used to receiving encouragement," Ragna explained. "Look, it's a long story."

"We got time if you feel like sharing," Ace said encouragingly

"...Some other day." Was all that was said as he continued to practice on the instrument.

The others decided to leave well enough alone. Luffy, still bored, peeked at Arya's poems and read the title of one out loud: "Needle. What's that about?"

"Needle is the name of my old fencing foil," Arya explained. "As for the poem itself, I was thinking about fighting back against something when I wrote it. Think it might make a good song?"

Luffy scratched his head. "Hmm, could have a lot of good potential. Still remember you were a beast on the fencing field."

"And you were quite the boxer," Arya responded, flipping to another poem of hers entitled "Swift-Fist Boy." Luffy couldn't help but chuckle shyly at that.

Yes, it seemed the Goblins were off to a good start.

Hopefully it could get better


	2. Enter Sans

Since picking up Ragna as their bassist, the Goblins had been playing their songs together every day in the brothers' parents' garage. Thankfully, the relatively solitary location meant they weren't likely to get noise complaints, and Rouge was very permissive about the noise level, simply taking a walk or running errands if it got too intense. Still homeless, Ragna drifted between the D.'s couch, the Starks' guest bedroom, and the local shelter. It was hectic, but it beat jail.

But still, unrest settled over them. Would it be enough to do what they were doing now, or was there more to what they were capable of?

Indeed, while Luffy's drum technique was improving, Ragna was mastering ythe bass, Ace was rediscovering his love of the guitar, and Arya was perfecting her warrior-poetess voice, they weren't exactly doing much by staying in a housewife's garage day-in, day-out. Arya especially understood this, as her time as a professional drummer, brief as it was, had shown her a solid glimpse of what musicians really had to do to get their names out there. They needed more than just an attitude. They needed connections.

That's what she was thinking as she walked about the city, trying to gather her thoughts for the future.

Feeling nostalgic, she decided to head into the local grocery store to see if they still had that sour-sweet taffy she and Bran used to enjoy as children. Thankfully, not much had changed about the store's layout, and she made her way through the aisles.

Ah yes, everything still seemed to be in order, a few change here and there, but still, all the good stuff was here.

As she was heading for the checkout with her candy treasure, Arya passed into the condiments aisle, where she happened upon someone she'd thought was still in Gondor... he was holding two different brands of bottled ketchup, as if comparing them.

A skeleton, with blue coat, examined the bottles, trying to decide.

"eh, just go with this one." he said, gripping one and putting the other one away.

"Sans?" Arya inquired happily, walking forward. "Sans, I never thought I'd see you of all people here."

"huh?" the skeleton muttered, looking at the young girl. His eye sockets widened in recognition as he saw who it was, and broke into a grin. "hey kiddo."

The two had met on Arya’s travels, and he served as a sort of inspiration to the girl.

"Are you visiting from Gondor?" asked Arya.

"nah, i don't live there anymore," Sans replied with a shake of his head. "landlord got tired of my bro's cooking always setting off the fire alarms, so we packed up and came out here."

Ah, yes. Papyrus had an passion for cooking spaghetti...but no talent for it.

“so, uh, what have you been up to?” Sans asked.

"I started a band of my own," Arya said eagerly. "We go by the Goblins."

"not bad, not bad," Sans said in approval. "epic name, too. still drumming?"

"Nah, singing." Arya admitted. "Joined up with some old friends of mine, and found new guy to help as well."

"welp, i'd love to hear that," Sans replied. "tell ya what, i'm not doin' anything else today. mind if i stop by and hear you guys play?"

"I'd be delighted," said Arya. "But shouldn't I tell you the address?"

Midway through that sentence, she realized it was a silly question; Sans had a strange habit of being everywhere at once.

"nah, i'll know." Sans confirmed, his smile ever present as he began to walk away.

Arya waved goodbye as Sans departed. Soon, she was back at the garage, where Ragna was looking like he'd just got out of bed  
"Where have you been?" He asked in a drowsy fashion.

"Out and about." Arya replied. "Now get ready. A friend is coming over to watch us perform."

"Ooh! A friend? Who are they? Are they a dragon?" Luffy asked eagerly, stoked at the prospect of possibly meeting Cynder.

"Huh, an audience, eh?" Ace said thoughtfully. "I guess we could use a little outside perspective, I'm pretty sure Mom's just being polite when she says she likes what we do."

"Alright, but I hope this friend of yours isn't weird or anything," Ragna acquiesced.

"Weird, how?" asked Arya.

"I don't know, like...having the habit of popping out of nowhere?" Ragna stated.

"what do you mean by that?" Sans asked, coming from nowhere.

Ragna screamed like a little girl.

The other Goblins tried not to laugh at Ragna's reaction as Sans surveyed his surroundings.

"huh, not bad, kids," he muttered. "anyways, i'm sans. sans the skeleton. arya and i met in gondor a couple months back."

"OHHH! You're from Gondor?!" Luffy exclaimed. "Do you know any dragons?"

"eh, a few." Sans admitted. "and just like anyone else, they all have their own personalities...though they do have a habit of treasuring certain objects.

"Sans is the one who helped me meet Cynder," Arya explained, cutting off Luffy before he could ask one of his famously invasive questions about whether or not the skeleton had certain excretory bodily functions. "Back in Gondor, he helped musicians get together, collaborate, and land gigs at venues."

"eh, just something i liked to do when i can." Sans said causally. "and so, here i am, wanting to see how you all work."

The Goblins got set up and tried to settle on a song.

"What should it be, guys?" Arya asked her bandmates. "'Dine 'n Dash?' 'Needle?' 'Reaper?'"

"Hmmm, 'Reaper' sounds fitting today. Ace noted, readying himself.

"Noted," said Arya, clearing her throat. They got ready, and Ace started off the song by strumming a distorted three-chord riff. Ragna played a sliding note on his bass, and Luffy hit his kit's cymbals rhythmically.

The song was one of those that some would call 'past crap', but Sans found himself listening very intently.

Then Arya jumped in with her vocal: throaty, growling, and deliberately masculine, it perfectly complemented the intense and uncompromising music. Her lyrics, while fairly simple, had a ferocious honesty to them.

The music flowed, a bit rough, but true to the heart.

Once they were finished, they looked at Sans for approval.

"well, i can tell you put a ton of work into it, or should i say," he grinned. "a skele-ton!"

A collective groan came from Arya, Ace, and Ragna, but Luffy cracked up at the pun, much to Sans's amusement.

"yeah, i'd say this garage here's gotten too small for you guys," he continued. The Goblins all looked at him with their heads slanted to the side in curiosity.

“What are you saying?” Arya asked.

“i just think maybe you could be doing more with this.” Sans went on.

"You mean, start playing shows?" asked Ace. "Well, it beats hanging around here all day, but where would we get started?"

"i got a side gig doin' security at this downtown coffee shop," Sans replied. "they, uh, don't serve alcohol, so you don't have to worry if any of you are underage. i'll put in a good word for you guys."

"That would be much appreciated." Arya said with a smile, happy that Sans was helping them out.

"hey, it's what i do," Sans replied jovially. "well, when i'm not staring at security monitors or taking breaks."

"I...see..." Was all that Ragna could say. This guy was bizarre...

Regardless, this was still a step in the right direction. Luffy and Ace high-dived each other, glad to have somewhere else to make noise.

"Well, you all." Arya nodded. "Looks like we've all a big future ahead of us."

They certainly did, and it was sure to have its ups and downs. But for the moment, they continued their practice, rehearsing for what they hoped would be their first proper public gig.

Who knew, in the end, what would be in store for them in the future...

But they would face it.


End file.
